Week 5ish: Japanature

Last Saturday, some of us decided a little bit of nature was in order, so we packed up our bags (the smallest ones we had) and headed to the wilderness of tokyo for a day hike.  I imagine you are probably thinking, “What!  I didn’t know Tokyo had wilderness!”  To which I would reply, “Ha!  You are right!”  But only in a sense.

For those of you who have been to Tokyo, you might have been struck by the numerous patches of green sprouting up around the city.  For those who haven’t, let me inform you that there are in fact numerous patches of green, which seem almost like someone dropped bombs around the city that exploded into mini, dense forests.  We did not, however, go hiking in these.  That would have been ridiculous;  the hike would have lasted 5 minutes, and on top of that, there are probably huge spiders in there.

So instead, we jumped on the Ome line, which departs from the happening ‘burb of Tachikawa and slowly crawls into more rural landscapes, gradually transforming into the Chichibu national forest. Suddenly those patches of green take over mountains, spewing out a river from between them, winding below as you watch from the train tracks above.  Apartments are replaced by the wooden houses of a slightly more bygone era, and the large and pervasive advertisements of tokyo that follow you like Mona Lisa’s eyes are replaced by more homey handwritten signs, which don’t feel half as aggressive and demanding.

When we alighted and looked at a map, we discovered that we could either take a bus to the base of our intended, mt. Mitake (or as my iPad tried to get me to say, Mt. Mistake) or walk 45 minutes. We also had the option of taking a tram to the top or hike an hour.  We pounded out chests and said, “We are mountain women!”  Plus, it’s kind of ridiculous to go all that way for a day in nature just to end up being chauffered around the whole time.  However, we were apparently the only ones to feel this way, as we found ourselves alone on the roadside, walking and watching our fellow train passengers line up for their next public transport.

Having seen the size of some Japanese spiders, this is as far in as I dared to go.

 We arrived in the estimated time at the foot of Mitake, and found ourselves looking…at more paved road, reaching precarious angles up the mountain. But we figured this was just the start, and we would get past it soon enough.  We never did.  The entire way was steep pavement.   Since I know that this was not a one off; since takao, tokyo’s most famous day hike, is the same way; I came to the conclusion that I was not impressed with the hiking trails of T-town.

Still, there is a sense of relieved euphoria when you reach the top of any mountain; this time was no exception.  Even though the top was home to a tiny town rather than a few rocks that you can perch yourself on to contemplate existence, we still felt rather proud of ourselves.  There was shrine at the top that housed a “power spot,” and was also dedicated to any dogs whose owners dragged them along (long live our four-footed friends).  After we visited there (and Nanako purchased what turned out to be the worst fortune ever), we headed to a restaurant for some fantastic tempura soba, followed by green tea ice cream.  And any trip that ends in ice cream equals success to me.